第二部分：阅读理解

　　1 Passage 1

　　foreigner’s first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people appear always to be hurrying to get where they are going restlessly, seeking attention in a store, and elbowing others as they try to complete their errands (任务). Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country.

　　一个外国人对于美国的第一印象很有可能是每个人都在压力下匆匆忙忙。城市里的人总是表现得匆匆忙忙不知疲倦的，为了尽快做完一件事情，他们会在店里拼命引起店员的注意或者用胳膊肘推搡别人。白天匆忙就餐也是这个国家生活节奏的一个部分。

　　Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so that they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you don’t, waiters will hurry you.

　　工作时间被认为是很珍贵的。在一些公共饮食场所，其他人会等在你旁边等你吃完，这样大家都可以得到服务，并赶在规定的时间内回去工作。每个人都会尽快给下一个人腾出地方。如果你不这样，侍者会催促你的。

　　You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small courtesies with strangers. Don’t take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else “wasting” it beyond a certain courtesy point.

　　你会发现司机也都很匆忙，人们从你身边匆匆走过。你会错过一些微笑，简短的交谈和一些与陌生人的小礼节。不要在意，这是因为他们非常珍惜时间，而且他们认为一旦太注重这些社交礼节就是浪费时间。

　　The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority. Many of us have what might be called “a short fuse.” We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away without some returnbe this in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest. Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life.

　　对时间的观念还会影响到我们对耐心的理解。在美国价值体系中，耐心并不是首要考虑的。我们中的很多人被称为“脾气火爆”。如果我们觉得时间在毫无意义的溜走，既没有娱乐价值，工作价值，也不在休息，那就会开始不停地徘徊。那些来自时间观念不同的国家的人发现他们在商业和日常生活中最困难的就是对时间节奏的适应。

　　Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesy of a business call, for example, they will miss the ritual socializing that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee they may be traditional in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a café or coffeehouse. Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over prolonged small talks. We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly. (348 words)

　　许多刚到美国来的人都会想念他们在商业会谈中一些开场礼节。举个例子，他们会想念欢迎你到来而泡的一杯茶或咖啡这样的社交礼仪，这在他们国家是常规礼仪。他们会想念在咖啡屋悠闲的会谈。而通常，美国人不会与来访者在这么悠闲的环境中进行一些冗长的小会谈。对于同事，我们总是看他过去的表现而不是与他的社交礼仪。因为我们一般都是更注重专业性的，而不是社交性的，因此我们总是很快进入正题。

　　1. Which of the following statements is wrong? ___D_______ 以下哪项陈述是错误的?

　　A. Americans seem to be always under pressure.

　　B. Americans attach less importance to patience.

　　C. Americans don’t care much about ritual socializing.

　　D. Americans are impolite to their business colleagues. 美国人对他们的同事不礼貌。

　　2. In the fourth paragraph, “a high priority” means ___B_______.第四段中的“a high priority”是什么意思?

　　A. a less important thing B. a first concern 要首要考虑的。

　　C. a good business D. an attractive gift

　　3. Americans evaluate a business colleague _____D_____.美国人评价他们的同事是根据__________。

　　A. through social courtesy B. through prolonged business talks

　　C. by establishing business relations D. by learning about their past performance他们过去的表现。

　　4. This passage mainly talks about ____A______. 本文主要讲了___________。

　　A. how Americans treasure their time 美国人是怎样珍惜时间的。

　　B. how busy Americans are every day

　　C. how Americans do business with foreigners

　　D. what American way of life is like

　　5. We can infer from the passage that the author’s tone in writing is __C_________.

　　从本文我们可以看出作者写作的口吻是___________。

　　A. critical B. ironical C. appreciative欣赏的。 D. objective

　　2 Passage 2

　　characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

　　美国文化的一个特点，并且几乎成为美国的一项传统的是对自我奋斗的人的尊敬――通过自己的努力到达顶峰，通常是白手起家。然而公司，企业的领导，社会地位很高，在社区中获得比一般工人或工厂技术人员更多的尊敬的大学教授，都不愿说出自己的父亲在美国是从一个农民，工人这类人开始奋斗的。

　　This attitude toward manual(体力的)labor is now still seen many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously(豪华地)furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

　　这种对体力劳动的尊敬在美国生活的很多地方都能看到。一个人被邀请到一户家庭赴宴，这户家庭装潢不只舒适，可以说是豪华，处处可证明这家人支付的起国外旅行，奢侈的爱好和孩子的大学教育。但是这样的女主人很有可能自己做饭招待客人，然后洗刷餐具，并且这样的宴会不会仅仅提供快餐式的罐头食品，从附近面包房买的蛋糕或派。相反的，女主人通常为精心准备特别的菜肴而感到自豪。男主人会谈论自己如何洗车，在花房劳作，粉刷房子，他的儿子在外地上大学，做餐厅侍应生，洗盘子来供自己生活花费，或者暑假的时候为建筑队在高速公路工作赚钱付学费。

　　1. From paragraph 1, we know that in America _______.从第一段我们可以知道在美国_______?A

　　A. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man人们对自我奋斗的人评价很高

　　B. people can always rise to the top through their own efforts

　　C. college professors win great respect from common workers

　　D. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors

　　2. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _______.B

　　从这篇文章来看，女主人自己做饭主要是因为_______?

　　A. servants in American are hard to get

　　B. she takes pride in what she can do herself 她对自己可以做的事情感到自豪

　　C. she can hardly afford servants D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

　　3. The expression “wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_______”.D

　　第二段中，词组“等在桌旁”的意思是什么?

　　A. work in a furniture shop B. keep accounts for a bar

　　C. wait to lay the table D. serve customers in a restaurant在餐厅为客人服务

　　4. The author’s attitude towards manual(体力的)labor is _______.作者对体力劳动者的态度如何?A

　　A. positive 积极的 B. negative C. humorous D. critical

　　5. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage? 下面那项最适合作这篇文章的题目?B

　　A. A Respectable Self-made Family.

　　B. American Attitude toward Manual Labor. 美国人对体力劳动者的态度

　　C. Characteristics of American Culture. D. The Development of Manual Labor.